The Mangled Tribute
by RookieGrey8
Summary: When Alona's name is called for the 65th Hunger Games, it's basically a death sentence. Who believes a scrawny girl with a mangled arm can win such a brutal game? The answer: No one. So when she allies with Finnick Odair, will she have a chance of making it through the games? And what will happen when she starts developing feelings for Finnick?
1. Chapter 1

**This story is in honor of Mockingjay Part 1, which I went to see like a week ago. **

**Yes, I know I should be working on my other story, but when I went to go see the movie I fell in love with Finnick all over again. I absolutely love him! After watching it, this one idea about Finnick got stuck in my brain and it kept coming back no matter what I did. Before I knew it, I had written the entire story out.**

**Just saying, the one part of the movie that keeps replaying in my head was the part when Finnick and Annie were reunited. It was so sweet (I think we can all see that deep down, I'm a very sappy person). With that being said, this story actually fits in pretty well with the real books, and in my opinion it even supports Odesta/FinnickXAnnie.**

**Also, this story is going to be short and choppy. I didn't plan on actually finishing it when I started it and as a result only the most important parts are covered. There's very little extra filler in this story which may make some people happy, but it might also make it a bit hard to follow. I'm just letting you know all this so that you know I did it on purpose and I'm not crazy. :P**

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I took a deep breath of the cool morning air. It smelled fresh and piney which wasn't surprising considering that I was sitting in the upper branches of a pine tree. The branch I was sitting on could barely hold my weight, but as long as I kept my arm wrapped around the tree trunk I was safe.

I smiled as a small bird flapped its wings and flew off into the wind. Sitting high up in the trees was my only safe haven these days. I closed my eyes and lifted my face to the gentle breeze.

"Alona, where are you?"

The loud voice startled me so badly I almost fell out of the tree. I sighed at the broken peace. Looking down at the ground, I saw a boy who looked like an older version of me, right down to the dark brown, overly curly hair. He had his back to me and was squinting up at the treetops.

"Asher, I'm over here!"

He spun around and his eyes locked onto me. "Alona, get down here. The Reaping's going to start soon!"

"The Reaping isn't for another hour," I stated. Nonetheless, I jumped down to the ground.

"Well, it's gonna take an hour to get you ready," Asher teased, poking the messy bun on top of my head.

I batted his hand away playfully. "I guess we better start heading home then."

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**Well, this chapter is a lot shorter than what I usually write. I think that most of the chapters in this story will be about this long. Short and neat, right? Originally this story was going to be a one shot, but then when I finished it and saw how long it was I decided to split it up.**

**So, what do you think so far? Good, bad, terrible? Let me know!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I have discovered something that is completely irrelevant to this story, but I'm going to tell you anyways: I don't like typing out my resume. It's a project that we have to do for English class, and I was just sitting there typing away, thinking how boring it was. Then, when I looked at the finished version, my first thought was, 'This is pathetic!' And it really was. I always thought that I had accomplished a lot for my age. Well, all of those "big accomplishments" were squeezed down to about 3 pages of random words that don't really make much sense. It's kind of depressing.**

**Anyways, enough dumb rambling from me. Here's the story!**

**And since I forgot to do it last time, disclaimer: I do NOT own Hunger Games.**

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I bit my lip as Eazelle Vermilia, the District 7 escort, climbed up the stairs to the stage. The dumb video they showed every year had already been played and it was time for the tributes' names to be drawn.

I couldn't help but stare as Eazelle tottered over to the microphone on ridiculously tall heels. Her dress had multiple layers of frills sewn in and had almost every shade of red in existence on it.

"Well, here we go," she announced in her strange accent. "Girls first."

As she stumbled over to pick out the girl's name, I noticed all the girls linking hands with one another. The girl on my right, I think her name might've been Ashlyn, held out her hand for me to take. When I didn't grab it, she glanced down at my mangled right hand and blushed. After a minute, she awkwardly rested her hand on my shoulder. I smiled and then grabbed the hand of the girl on my left.

Eazelle reached her hand into the bowl, shuffled the papers around, and plucked one out. After she made her way back to the mic, she held the paper up and took her sweet time opening it.

"Alona Keene."

I think my heart skipped a beat. I couldn't move, I couldn't even breathe. I found myself walking stiffly to the stage on an instinct. I felt like a robot.

'Someone, please anyone, volunteer. Please!' I thought desperately. I knew it was hopeless. No one here was dumb enough to willingly volunteer for a death sentence.

All too soon, I was on top of the stage. My eyes found Asher's out in the crowd of seventeen year old boys. He looked as scared as I felt.

I was out of sync with time. Somehow, I hadn't heard or seen the other tribute come up to the stage. When I turned, I saw Rowan Collison, a black haired boy a few years older than me.

"Well, shake hands," Eazelle encouraged us.

Rowan glanced down at my right hand and then back to my face so quickly I almost missed it. He thrust his left hand out, and I gratefully shook it.

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**Just to let y'all know, I am very proud of the names I've come up with for this story. For example: Alona's name supposedly means oak tree and she lives in District 7 where their jobs are to cut down trees for lumber. **

**Eazelle's name, I just completely made up. For her first name, I combined the words ****gazelle**** (like the animal) and ****easel**** (like the thing you use to prop up paintings). I was thinking something along the lines of how the Capitol's people are all very colorful (that's how I got easel) and how it would be funny if she were named for something graceful because she's so clumsy (that's how I got gazelle). Eazelle's last name is a lot easier to explain. It comes from the word vermilion which is a shade of red I think. **


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm so happy right now, I'm almost bouncing off the walls. Exams are over, school is out, and Christmas is on the way. So here's a chapter while I'm not feeling lazy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hunger Games.**

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I nervously sat on a dusty couch somewhere in the Justice Building. I was trying to sit as still as possible, but it wasn't working. I kept fidgeting and every few seconds a silent tear would slip down my cheek.

The door burst open and my mother, father, and brother poured in. Mom ran over and gathered me up in her arms. I held onto her as hard as I could.

"You'll be fine, you'll be fine," she whispered over and over. I just nodded. I couldn't get my tongue to move and form words.

My Dad's hand cupped my cheek, and I looked up at him. "You can win," he said. "Come home." I could tell he didn't believe it, he was just saying it to keep my hopes up. Asher was the only one who stood a chance, not me. Not some scrawny, mangled girl.

Mom finally let go and Asher grabbed my hand. "You have to be strong," he said firmly. "Don't let them see your weakness. Don't cry." I nodded furiously and clamped my teeth on my lip, trying to stop the tears.

"Find out the other tributes' secrets. Look for their weaknesses, habits, anything that may help. You can do it." Asher's eyes were so confident and earnest, I almost believed him.

All too soon, a peacekeeper walked in and started sweeping my family out.

"Remember: secrets!" Asher shouted as his hand slipped out of mine.

I flopped back down on the couch and squeezed my arm to keep from crying.

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**I don't really know what to think about this chapter. It's really short. While I was writing it, I almost decided to leave it out, but then I thought that I should probably put Alona's family in somewhere and this was sort of the last chance until the very end.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, here's the next chapter. I'm actually a day or so behind with updating this story and my excuse is that I'm on break. My goals for being on break include relaxing, watching as many movies and reading as many books as possible, and forgetting the date. Honestly, I don't even know what day it is.**

**Disclaimer: I think it's pretty obvious I don't own Hunger Games.**

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On the train, Rowan and I met Blight, our mentor. He was tall and broad with a scruffy beard. I'd heard that he had a great sense of humor, but at the moment he was completely somber.

We watched the Reapings when they came on. It would be the first time we would get to see our opponents.

The District 1 tributes were both volunteers, as usual. The boy, Radian, had short blonde hair that looked like cottonwood fluff. He was tall and muscled, and had a deadly look in his eyes. The girl, named Lacey, seemed less threatening. She was tall, but delicate looking which was strange for a Career. Still, she walked up to the stage with confidence oozing from every step. Her perfectly styled brown hair and gentle face were hiding something.

The District 2 tributes were also volunteers. The boy, whose name was Blayze, was shorter and broader than the boy from 1. The girl, Oriel, had long jet black hair and was about as muscled as a girl could get. When they shook hands, it looked more like an arm wrestle.

The two tributes from District 3, Gadge and Terra, didn't look too threatening. They were probably better at making electronics than at fighting.

District 4's tributes definitely left an impression. The girl, whose name was Cyan, had to be at least six feet tall. When her name was called, no one even had to look around to find her; she stuck up above the crowd. When Finnick, the boy tribute, was called and his face popped up on the screen I couldn't help but stare. His face was perfectly chiseled and his skin was a beautiful tanned color. His hair was a dirty blonde that had been turned bronze by the sun. A closer shot revealed that his eyes were a bright sea green color.

"He won't have any trouble getting sponsors," Blight stated.

"He is gorgeous!" Eazelle squealed when Finnick shot a smile at the camera. I couldn't help but agree.

After showing Cyan and Finnick shaking hands, it turned to the 5th District. My mind didn't go with it. Even when it showed Rowan and me getting picked, I couldn't pay attention. I was stuck on Finnick.

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**Nothing really happens in this chapter, but I kinda like it. I get to introduce all the completely random tributes I had to make up. I never really thought about it before, but it's actually kind of hard to invent a bunch of strong/tough tributes without sounding redundant. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry about the wait. It's amazing how sidetracked school can get you. **

**I want to give a small shout out to Anolirak for giving me my first review! Reviews make me happy, and when I'm happy I like to post more chapters quicker (cough, cough, hint, hint). I definitely want to keep this story going as long as possible, although the ending is still a little shaky. I haven't completely figured out where to go with it, but have no fears! I will find an ending no matter how long it takes!**

**Anyways, this chapter is once again short (unfortunately), but don't worry. Once the story gets a little further along the chapters will start to lengthen.**

**One more thing: in case it isn't obvious, the little **00000** in the middle of the story means there's a time skip.**

**Now, on to the overdue update.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hunger Games**

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My stylist looked me up and down in the dress he had designed. I think his name may have been Majoris, but I wasn't completely sure. I had been more focused on his bright green hair than on listening to him introduce himself.

Majoris clicked his tongue. "You look beautiful, every part of you is ready for the parade. All except your arm." He glared down at my scarred limb. "I'll have to do something about that." He hurried out of the room.

I turned around and stared at myself in the mirror. I was dressed as a tree, but it wasn't as ugly as some of the costumes in previous years. The dress was brown with a bark type design on it that faded to a green up at the top. At the bottom, the fabric splayed out like roots. The top was sleeveless and green with leaves printed on it. My hair had matching green streaks in it which my prep team had assured me were temporary. The makeup on my face was natural looking. A small green leaf was drawn at the corner of each eye. The same design was drawn along both arms. The finishing touch was a golden leaf clipped into my hair.

I spun around when Majoris walked into the room. He was holding a glove that matched my dress, green at the hand and brown further up.

"Here, put this on," he said. He glanced at my right arm and shook his head. "On second thought, let me do it."

He slipped the glove onto my right arm and fastened it to the dress so it wouldn't slip down. Majoris smiled. "There, perfect. You'll take their breath away."

00000

I stared gleefully at the beautiful horses attached to the chariot. They were palominos with bright eyes. I shuffled over to them and rubbed their necks.

"You're so beautiful," I breathed.

"Why thank you!" a smug voice interjected.

I jumped and spun around and almost tripped over my dress. When I finally managed to stand up straight again, the first thing I saw was a pair of sea green eyes. They were crinkled up in a mischievous smile and were staring right at me.

"Um…," I managed to say.

"Finnick Odair," he said, holding out his free hand. His other hand was holding a small pile of sugar cubes.

I stared down at his outstretched right hand in dismay before awkwardly grabbing it with my left hand. "I know who you are," I said, making sure I squeezed as tightly as possible. His hand was cool and calloused.

Finnick stared down at our linked hands with a small frown on his face. After a moment, he let go and cleared his throat. "And you are?"

"Alona Keene," I answered, a bit ruffled that he hadn't bothered to remember me.

"Well, _Alona Keene_," he said, emphasizing my name, "good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor."

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**Like I said, a pretty short chapter, but at least Alona and Finnick have met. Even if it was a short, strange little meeting.**

**I hope I did an okay job describing the dress that Alona wore for the parade. I stink at coming up with outfits.**


	6. Chapter 6

**So, a friend of mine recommended that I watch a show called Criminal Minds (I don't really watch much TV so I never know anything about any of the shows that are on). Well, I just finished watching the first few episodes (as in season 1 episodes 1-4), and wow, I am hooked. All it took was four episodes! And yes, for all of you Criminal Minds fans and fanatics out there, I do know that I'm like 10 years late. **

**I get these terrible obsessions with shows I watch, and when I say terrible, I really do mean terrible. Like, all I can think about is that one thing, day in and day out. And now I'm stuck on Criminal Minds, and I've only seen four episodes! There must be something wrong with me.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Hunger Games it would be nowhere near as well written as it is.**

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"And remember," Blight added, "don't let them see all your strengths."

When Rowan and I reached the training room I was momentarily shocked. There were a ton of stations, all for practicing different weapons or learning survival skills. It was a bit overwhelming.

I hesitantly wandered through the room, looking for something to do. One station caught my eye and I wandered over to it. It was a knot tying station to learn to make snares.

I crouched down and started trying to tie a simple sailor's knot. It was harder than it should've been since I only had one hand. I had to use my teeth to tighten the strings, and when it was done it looked a lot more ragged than it should have.

"Well, that should at least hold for a little while if I ever need to use it," I said proudly.

"Unless I do this." A quick hand flashed in front of me and tugged at one part of the knot, effectively untying the entire thing. I dropped the rope to the ground.

"Thanks," I grumbled through gritted teeth.

"Anytime," Finnick replied with a charming smile. He took a seat next to me and started fiddling around with the discarded rope. I watched jealously as his nimble fingers weaved in and out, creating knots I couldn't dream of. When he caught me watching, he smiled a bit sheepishly.

"Tying knots is calming," he explained.

I sighed and ran my hand down my face. "What do you want Finnick?"

He cleared his throat. "Forgive me if this seems rude, but your muscles seem to be lacking for someone who grew up in a district whose main job is cutting down trees." He glanced at my scrawny body as if to prove his point.

I shrugged. "Actually, my job wasn't chopping down trees. As I'm sure you've noticed, I may be tall but I'm not strong. So since I wasn't cut out for heavy lifting work and I'm lighter than a majority of the population, my job was to climb up trees before they were chopped down and cut off the limbs so they won't shatter when the tree falls. So no, I don't think my left arm is lacking muscle." I held my arm up and flexed. When Finnick saw my muscles, his eyes widened. I snorted at his face.

"Wait a minute, what about your other arm?" he asked.

I grimaced and pulled my right arm up. Everything below the elbow dangled uselessly. Finnick reached out and poked the scarred skin.

"How did it happen?" he asked.

I frowned. "It happened like any good injury happens: you don't listen to your parents. In my case, I was playing inside of the factory where they level logs into boards. Mom had told me a ton of times not to do that but I didn't listen. I don't know how it happened but one second I was playing, the next second I had fallen inside the machine.

"I don't actually remember anything after that. I've been told that the workers tried to pull me out but my arm was stuck. By the time they turned off the machines, it was too late and I was stuck with this." I used my left arm to move the useless fingers. "Most of the muscles and nerves were severed or pulled out so I can't feel anything and I can barely move it."

Finnick stared at my arm. "That stinks," he finally said.

I laughed. "Nothing I can do about it now. Besides," I added, "if it hadn't of happened I would've never discovered how terrible it is to have to be left handed."

Finnick chuckled.

"So, any secrets you want to tell me in return?" I asked innocently.

He pretended to think about it. "Um, how about… I hate tuna?" I glared at him. "Okay, not good enough. How about some info about Lacey, the girl from 1?" That brightened me up.

"She's an incredible acrobat. She came really early this morning and went through the obstacle course when she thought no one was around. Unfortunately for her, I'm an early riser."

I was about to thank him when a thought occurred to me. "How do I know you're not lying?"

"Why would I lie?" Finnick asked indignantly. "I like you. If we're going to work together in the games, telling you a lie would be a disadvantage to me."

"Wait, what do you mean 'work together'?" I pressed, but Finnick refused to say anything else.

He spent the rest of the day following me around and teasing me. I had to admit though, he was pretty good at teaching how to tie knots.

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**This chapter was a bit longer than the others. About 200-ish words longer actually. **

**I don't know about y'all, but that one part I put in there about all the good injuries happening when you don't listen to your parents is so true for me! Every huge accident I've ever had was from doing something that someone told me not to do. I guess I should probably learn something from that, right? **

**I hope Finnick wasn't too OOC in this.I did my best, but I'm still not really sure how I liked it.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I cannot express how happy I am that it's finally the weekend. I swear, the week almost killed me. **

**But, that doesn't matter. What matters is that I am actually sticking to a schedule for posting the chapters for this story! That is an amazing feat all in itself. Mainly because time is a concept that I don't like or follow. In other words, I stink at sticking to schedules.**

**Disclaimer: Hunger Games is not mine.**

* * *

The next day, I focused more on weapons than on survival skills. Finnick followed me around again too. He tried to teach me how to throw a trident, although I never did really figure it out. I showed him my talent for throwing axes and hatchets. In the back of my mind I knew it wasn't a good idea to show Finnick my strengths, but there was something oddly trustworthy and compelling about him. I couldn't keep any secrets from him.

At lunchtime, I sat at a table with Rowan and Axel, the boy from District 6. He was hilarious and spent the entire time cracking jokes.

After lunch, I was about to head over to the sword station for more experimentation when I felt someone poke the knotted pile of hair on top of my head. I spun around and almost ran into someone's rib cage. Looking up, I realized it was none other than Cyan.

"Hi," she said in a strangely perky voice. "I just wanted to talk and say how adorable it is that Finnick's been following you around. I would almost think he had a crush on you."

I flushed a bright red and immediately denied it. "What? No way, I mean look at him! He probably flirts with every girl he comes across." I waved my hand in his direction to emphasize my point. He was currently using his charming smile to turn Sash, the girl from District 8, to jelly.

Cyan laughed. "Of course he flirts with all the girls! That kind of personality comes with those looks, it's a package deal. I've just never seen him be stuck on someone as long as he has been on you." Then she shrugged. "Of course he's also wearing his 'mask' for the Capitol, so I guess we'll never know for sure…." Cyan trailed off.

The last part had caught my attention. "Wait, what kind of mask?"

"Can you not tell?" Cyan asked.

"I can tell, I just want to make sure," I said defensively.

"He's going for flirty, cocky, confident. It's the one role Mags said he could pull off flawlessly because he's already like that." Cyan sighed and looked down at her hands. "It's terrible to say, but for his sake I hope Finnick doesn't win."

My jaw just about fell open. "Why would you say that? You two are district partners. If you don't win, you should be hoping he does."

Cyan grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the other tributes that were close by. "I've heard terrible rumors about what happens to good looking tributes that win the games." She gave me a meaningful look and I swallowed in understanding. "I would hate for Finnick to have to go through that. In my opinion he would be better off dead."

"Who would be better off dead?" Finnick asked, popping up from behind me.

"No one!" Cyan and I both blurted.

Finnick stared silently at us for a few seconds before grabbing my arm and dragging me away. "Come on, I want another try at those throwing axes!"

00000

The next day was the last day of training. I spent more time than usual at the station with axes and hatchets, trying to make sure I had my aim down to a T.

Later that day, all the tributes gathered up to wait and perform for the Gamemakers. I sat in a corner with Rowan and Axel. They were having a conversation about survival skills. I would've joined in but the most I could manage to do was stutter.

Suddenly, someone grabbed my loose right hand and swung me around. Cyan was squatting there.

"Hi?" I had wanted it to sound friendly but it came out as more of a confused question.

"Hi," she replied. "So, has Finnick mentioned anything about allies?"

I was startled. This was not what I had expected to talk about. "Um, sort of. He kind of let something slip once, but I didn't really think much about it."

"We want you for any ally." Cyan kept her voice low and quiet. "Maybe your partner and his friend too."

"I don't think I want to have allies. I'd rather survive on my own."

"It would be a smart move to team up with us. If we can get everyone together, we may outnumber the Careers." Cyan looked up when her name was called. "Think about it." And with that, she turned to go to the other room.

When my name was finally called, I was shaking so badly I didn't if I would be able to hold an axe, let alone throw one.

I strutted into the room, doing my best to pretend I felt confident. My act faltered for a minute when I saw all the Gamemakers. None of them were paying attention. One had even fallen asleep in his chair.

"Alona Keene, District 7!" I called out. One of the Gamemakers nodded and motioned for me to continue.

I walked over to the rack of axes and hefted one of the bigger ones up. I turned towards the targets and threw it with all my might. It landed a little below where I had aimed, but that was okay. The Gamemakers didn't need to know that.

Next, I picked up a few of the smaller axes. I couldn't throw them all at once, so I put three of them between my legs and threw the other one. As soon as it had landed, I threw the next one, then the next, then the next. They all landed exactly where I had wanted them to.

I smirked and looked up at the Gamemakers. I expected them to be watching or taking notes. Instead, they were talking and laughing. My eyes narrowed in anger and I clenched my fist to resist throwing something at them. I spun around on my heel and stalked out of the room.

If they weren't going to pay attention to me, I wasn't going to acknowledge them.

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**I'm not completely happy with this chapter, and I can't exactly pinpoint why. Maybe it's how I wrote the characters or their personalities, or maybe it just went too fast. I don't know, but something seems off about it.**

**Let me know what y'all think!**


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